Can seasonal eating keep you from getting the cold or flu?

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Can seasonal eating keep you from getting the cold or flu?

The news out there is pretty bad: the flu is worse this year in the US, and the flu vaccine is only up to 30% effective. Strangely (to me), doctors and health care workers are making blanket recommendations that everyone should get the flu shot. As for me, I’ve taken the flu shot exactly once in my lifetime, when I was pregnant with my second child, and only at the insistence of my Chinese medicine doctor (who helped me overcome secondary infertility to achieve a healthy pregnancy at the age of 41). And yet, we rarely get the flu in my household, even when we’ve been exposed to many people who are clearly sick with it. In fact, my 7-year old is the only one in our household who ever gets a cold or flu, and it's always a mild version that she's able to overcome in a day or two.

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Detox cleanses sometimes hurt more than help: what you need to know

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Detox cleanses sometimes hurt more than help: what you need to know

The idea of detoxing - purging the body of poisons and other harmful substances, to bolster the immune system, eliminate fat and increase energy levels – has been around since at least the early 1900s. These days, it is more popular than ever, thanks to a gaggle of celebrity endorsements of popular diets. A quick search on Amazon.com turns up hundreds of books, cleansing products, herbs and nutritional supplements to help you cleanse your way to good health.

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Obesity is on the rise: what you need to know

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Obesity is on the rise: what you need to know

Guest post by Renew  Bariatrics

Obesity in the United Kingdom has been growing at an increasing rate in the past 30 years. Since 1990, obesity has tripled to all-time highs, and if the rates continue at this rate, obesity will affect 11 million adults by 2030. Obesity has serious health consequences including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, sleep apnea, hypertension, and much more.  

In 2017 nearly 1/4 of adults are obese. In total, 62% of adults are classified as overweight. With 26% of British women classified as obese. Learn more by viewing this infographic provided by Renew Bariatrics on United Kingdom obesity. 

(Much of this information also applies to the US, where obesity rates are at an all-time high, despite some leveling off in a few states. After you view the infographic, take a look at these statistics for more information about obesity in the US).

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Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: How to Reduce their Impact on Your Family’s Health

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Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: How to Reduce their Impact on Your Family’s Health

Many of the chemicals that are included in the personal care products we use every day are endocrine disruptors (EDCs). EDCs are a class of synthetic chemicals that have been clinically proven to interfere with the normal functioning of the endocrine system in the bodies of humans and some animals. The endocrine system regulates the metabolism and function of the body. Endocrine glands secrete hormones that act on our organs through cognate receptors. Some of these hormones regulate brain and reproductive functions, including reproduction.

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Organic vs. Non-GMO Labels

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Organic vs. Non-GMO Labels

Guest post by PacMoore

There was a time fairly recently where you were lucky if food labels listed the ingredients. In keeping with the Information Age, however, today there’s a surplus of information on labels in every aisle of the grocery store. Food labels tell you what’s in your food, how many calories it contains, how large a portion is, and so on and so forth. And, as the food industry and consumers continue to become more demanding, the amount of information those labels contain is increasing.

For example, more people today are apprehensive about eating non-organic foods or foods prepared with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), so organizations such as the USDA and the Non-GMO Project are labeling foods to help consumers make better-informed decisions. For many people, especially people trying to uphold a vegan diet, food labeling has become an important component of their lifestyles.

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Boosting Your Brain with All-Natural Vitamin Supplements

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Boosting Your Brain with All-Natural Vitamin Supplements

guest post by Amy Trotter

Ever been asked how your mental faculties are? Probably not, or at the very least the question was likely posed in a more commonplace way of asking. But let’s take a look at the question just exactly as it is here, and start by weighing the meaning of the word ‘faculties’ in this context.

Merriam-Webster - the world’s premier online dictionary - provides 4 definitions for faculty. Definition 1b applies here, ‘an inherent capability, power, or function’

  • Capability
  • Power
  • Function

Does that sound like you and your brain? If so, great: your mental faculties are going strong. If not, perhaps you’d like to learn more about natural supplements to boost brain power. They do exist, and more than likely they can be found at your local pharmacy or health and wellness store.

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5 Foods to Avoid Before Bedtime

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5 Foods to Avoid Before Bedtime

Guest Post by Sarah Cummings

Is your sensitive stomach causing you sleep deprivation problems? Inflammation of the stomach lining can put your body in a state of shock, where lack of sleep will be the least of your worries. Over time it affects the function of other internal organs as well. Furthermore, this process can cause miscommunication issues in the endocrine system, eventually leading to many psychological complications.

To avoid all of these self-induced problems, all you need to do is pay attention to your diet so that every other piece of the puzzle falls into place and creates a healthy YOU. 

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Some unexpected ways that gardening helps fight chronic inflammation

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Some unexpected ways that gardening helps fight chronic inflammation

Last week I wrote that switching your home cleaning and personal care supplies to non-toxic varieties is a good way to decrease your chances of developing chronic inflammation. This week’s post discusses another strategy – gardening -- that also helps with prevention, and brings relief from chronic inflammation in ways you might not have realized.

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The disturbing connections between chemical pollution and chronic inflammation

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The disturbing connections between chemical pollution and chronic inflammation

Chemical pollution affects us all in ways you may not realize. It is responsible for a significant amount of chronic illnesses in the U.S. While the poor are disproportionately affected, even the wealthy can’t escape some of the effects that chemical pollution is having on our collective health.

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10 Ways to eat organic on a tight budget

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10 Ways to eat organic on a tight budget

The controversy over whether it’s better to eat organic or conventional food is still alive and well. Many of the debates have focused on whether or not there are any measurable nutritional benefits to eating organic food, while others point out that organic growers still do use pesticides, including a small number of synthetic ones. However, as a recent post in the Sacramento Bee points out, this is the wrong debate to be having.

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What Everyone Needs to Know about Arsenic in Rice

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What Everyone Needs to Know about Arsenic in Rice

Exposure to arsenic is a growing global health problem, but there’s a lot that scientists and health workers still don’t know about the extent to which it is affecting the health of vulnerable populations.

What exactly is arsenic, and how does it affect your health? Is there anything you can do to reduce your exposure to arsenic in rice and other food you eat? These are a few of the questions that this week’s blog post aims to answer.

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Easy, Natural Ways To Boost Your Energy Without Caffeine

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Easy, Natural Ways To Boost Your Energy Without Caffeine

guest post by Amy Trotter

If you find yourself lacking energy and going through your day a little more sluggish and slowly, you may need an all-natural energy boost. As strange as it may sound, you can skip the coffee and still feel alert and energetic all day. The key is in how you treat your body, especially with what you put into it.

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Chronic Inflammation: what is it, and how to treat it without drugs

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Chronic Inflammation: what is it, and how to treat it without drugs

07/31/2021

Did you know that many of the foods we eat, foods that have been labeled “healthy,” are actually sources of chronic inflammation? If you consume these foods on a regular basis, they are probably causing you to experience inflammation in ways that you may not have even thought of.

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Chocolate stories, and is dark chocolate really healthy for you?

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Chocolate stories, and is dark chocolate really healthy for you?

Chocolate has a history that goes back as far as 4000 years, when it was used by the cultures of MesoAmerica, beginning with the pre-Colombian Olmecs and followed by the Mayans and Aztecs. Back then, it was made as a bitter drink, cooked with water, spices, and no sugar. It was a “drink of the gods,” intended mostly for the elite, with one exception: evidence suggests that some sacrificial victims were given chocolate to drink (spiked with the blood of previous victims) to “get them in the mood” to die.

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